The status of LSP (Languages for Specialised Purposes) in the contemporary socio-cultural context is an ongoing central issue of scholarly debate. Specialised Languages in the Global Village examines the impact of globalisation on intercultural communication within specialised communities of practice. The contributions to the volume provide linguistically and pedagogically-informed discussion on modes of communication practice in professional and institutional domains, frames of social action and the construction of professional identities. The contributors also address issues of languages and social entrepreneurship, and the acquisition and development of linguistic/cultural competence in foreign languages for specialised purposes. The edition is a valuable resource for researchers in LSP, specialists in the fields of discourse analysis, sociolinguistics and scholars in the area of rhetoric and composition. It will also be of interest to professional translators, language editors and language advisors in the fields of specialised academic/professional communication. LSP instructors and foreign language teachers will also find informed guidelines and useful pedagogical proposals for classroom implementation.

This book is an essential guide for anyone who wishes to develop successful business communication. It provides authentic and memorable workplace scenarios where learners become English communicators when solving authentic problems doing business together. The book aims to help learners: Use authentic workplace materials to solve problems using English Understand how language can be used as a lingua franca effectively when communicating Understand how intertextuality between shared spoken and written texts drives communication Improve communicative performance in spoken and written texts Become familiar with the communication realities of workplaces that are becoming increasingly technology driven and globalised This book will help learners become better equipped with communication strategies through its real life applicable and skills-based examples and will be a useful reference in the digital age.

This book is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in researching or just learning more about the changing role and status of English across Europe. The status of English today is explained in its historical context before the authors present some of the key debates and ideas relating to the challenge English poses for learners, teachers, and language policy makers.

This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the research carried out over the past thirty years in the vast field of legal discourse. The focus is on how such research has been influenced and shaped by developments in corpus linguistics and register analysis, and by the emergence from the mid 1990s of historical pragmatics as a branch of pragmatics concerned with the scrutiny of historical texts in their context of writing. The five chapters in Part I (together with the introductory chapter) offer a wide spectrum of the latest approaches to the synchronic analysis of cross-genre and cross-linguistic variation in legal discourse. Part II addresses diachronic variation, illustrating how a diversity of methods, such as multi-dimensional analysis, move analysis, collocation analysis, and Darwinian models of language evolution can uncover new understandings of diachronic linguistic phenomena.

This edited book brings together fifteen original empirical studies from a variety of international contexts to provide a detailed exploration of language assessment, testing and evaluation. Language assessment has a key role in the development and implementation of language and educational policies at the national level, and this book examines some of the impacts - both positive and negative - of different skills testing and examination approaches on learning outcomes and individual students' language learning. This book will be of interest to scholars working in applied linguistics and language education, teacher training, testing and evaluation, as well as stakeholders such as practitioners, educators, educational agencies, and test developers.

This book, likely the first of its kind in the English language, explores Chinese for specific and professional purposes (CSP) in terms of theorizing and developing practical applications for language teaching and learning. While research in language for specific purposes is thriving for languages such as English, there has been comparatively little such research conducted for Chinese. This volume attempts to fill the gap by bringing together practitioners from a broad international scholarly community, who share common interests yet diverse orientations. Seventeen papers are included, and address four broad thematic categories: (1) academic Chinese, (2) business Chinese, (3) Chinese for medicine and health care, and (4) Chinese for other broadly defined services and industries (diplomacy, tourism, wine-tasting, etc.). Representing the state of the art in CSP research, the book offers an indispensable guide for anyone interested in theoretical and practical issues in this area of applied Chinese language studies.

In recent decades, considerable European investment has been devoted to the training of language assistants, full-time teaching staff and mentors, while the new figure of the professional “language teacher trainer” (LTT) has emerged. It is becoming increasingly important that future LTTs are not simply more expert teachers, or scholars competent in the various relevant disciplines, but professionals who are aware of their role, who know the development of teacher training in Europe and beyond, and who are able to compare various experiences in different training contexts. This volume is aimed at LTTs who wish to become aware of the main issues, tools and research now available for their daily practice and professional role, and for lecturers who teach prospective language teachers. Language teachers with long experience might also find useful information on how they can develop into LTTs. The book also offers an overview of recent European projects that could be relevant to principals of language departments who are involved in the assessment and performance management of their staff. Finally, the volume contains research suggestions for academic and PhD students who are investigating current issues in language teaching methodology, teacher training, lifelong learning and professional development. Contributors include: Mercè Bernaus, Nick Charge, Jim Cummins, Pierangela Diadori, Michael Kelly, Hanna Komorowska, Laura Muresan, Joe Navarro, Brian North, Mario Pace, Fiorella Perotto and Richard Rossner.